U.S. U-18 MNT Head Coach Javier Perez Calls 18 Players for International Tournament in Spain

NewsJan 28, 2014

CHICAGO (Jan. 28, 2014) – U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team head coach Javier Perez named an 18-player squad for the Copa del Atlantico that runs from Jan.
30 – Feb. 8 in Las Palmas, Spain.

Making its first appearance at the prestigious tournament, the USA will open its Copa del Atlantico schedule against Spain on Feb. 4, before facing
Argentina on Feb. 5 and the Canary Islands on Feb. 7.

Seventeen players on the U.S. roster have ties to U.S. Soccer Development Academy clubs, with 13 currently registered with Academy teams. Omar Castro of
Eintracht Braunschweig, who has been named to his first camp or tournament roster under Perez, is the only player on the squad never to have played for an
Academy team.

Four MLS Academies are represented on the roster with Real Salt Lake AZ sending two players (Christian Herrera and Sebastian Saucedo) and the Crew Soccer
Academy (Ben Swanson), Sporting Kansas City (Erik Palmer-Brown) and San Jose Earthquakes (JT Marcinkowski) all sending one.

The USA will be one of the youngest teams at the tournament as it fields a mixed squad of 1996- and 1997-born players. Eight ’97-born players have been
included after impressing Perez at the team’s last training camp in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., earlier this month.

Five of the team’s ’97-born players (Mukwelle Akale, Marcinkowski, Palmer-Brown, Tommy Redding and Swanson) were also included for the U.S. U-18 MNT’s last
international tournament in Limoges, France. In total, 14 players on the current roster featured at the Limoges tournament last October, helping the team
finish second to host France with an unbeaten 2-0-1 record.